Notikoni
by LovinFace
Summary: While helping a fellow veteran, Face is injured.


Notikoni

This was supposed to be an easy mission. Of course, how many times had they heard that before? Hannibal and BA had met with the clients, Carly and Randy Granger. They were the owners of a diner in Indian Hill, Montana left to them by their parents. Now someone was trying to destroy their business. In the last week alone, there had been a small fire in the dumpster, a window had been broken, and graffiti had been painted all over the diner declaring "Whites Rule" and "Indians are a waste of skin." Carly and Randy didn't know who could be doing this to them. Their parents had run the diner for nearly 30 years and never had any problems like these.

The A-Team checked out the story of the Grangers and learned that their parents had died in a car accident five years earlier. No one else was involved in the accident. Carly had been in college when the accident occurred. Randy had been in Vietnam.

Hannibal decided that the first thing they should do is set up surveillance to try and figure out who would be trying to take over a small diner. He and BA took the first watch. Face and Murdock were to take the second. With a motel next door, it was easy to keep tabs on the team. Hannibal and BA saw only customers coming and going throughout the day. That evening, Face and Murdock began surveillance from the van.

Around 1:00 a.m., Murdock thought he could see someone moving in the shadows. Face pulled the binoculars up to his eyes and squinted, trying to make out who or what was there. He saw nothing. Murdock insisted that he had seen something, he just knew it.

"C'mon Faceman, I'm not making it up." Murdock tugged at Face's sleeve. "I saw someone moving over there in the shadows. We better check it out."

Face looked through the binoculars again. He still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Okay, Murdock, okay." Face put down the binoculars and reached for his black jacket. He pulled up the hood, then grabbed the .357 Magnum and flashlight.

"Okay, Murdock. I'm going to go check out the side of the building over there. You stay here and make sure there's no one else around, okay? I'm putting the walkie-talkie in my pocket, so if you see anything, you let me know, okay?"

Face put the walkie-talkie in his pocket and slipped on some black gloves. "You ready, Murdock?"

Murdock looked down at his feet. "I'm sorta afraid of the dark Facey. I know it's stupid, but when I'm alone in a dark room I feel like there are thousands of eyes looking at me." Murdock slowly lifted his eyes to Face as he spoke.

Face leaned over to Murdock. "I tell you what. You keep the flashlight. You can turn it on and point it to the floor. That way you have some light but you still won't be too noticeable if someone happens to come along. Will that work?"

"Are you sure Face? Will you be able to see all right?" Murdock asked.

"Of course I'll be able to see all right. Why, I've had more practice sneaking around in the dark than you, BA, and Hannibal put together." Face smiled at Murdock, who had resumed looking at his feet.

Murdock spoke in a low voice, "You're not trying to con me are you Face?"

Face pushed Murdock's face up toward his own. "No. I'm not trying to con you. Just watch my back. I'll only be gone a minute or two."

Face got out of the van and tightened the hood around his head. It was COLD outside. "I swear we must be in the North Pole as cold as it is around here," he mumbled to himself. He started to shiver and pushed his hands further into his pockets. He slowly made his way over to the diner. He heard something. Where was it coming from? He stopped walking and listened to everything around him. It sounded like scuffling around the dumpster located at the side of the building.

Face crouched down and pointed toward the dumpster. Murdock nodded his head up and down to let Face know he understood. Face crept to the dumpster. As he raised his head up, a cat jumped out of the dumpster and landed on his back. The cat's claws dug in and it was all Face could do not to scream. He stood up and watched as the black cat ran off. Face turned and waved at Murdock, giving him the okay signal.

Face muttered, "Stupid cat. Those claws probably ruined my jacket." He started walking back to the van. "Maybe I could get Billy to go after the cat." Face smiled at the thought of Murdock's invisible dog chasing the cat. He looked at the van but couldn't see Murdock. "That's odd," he thought as he quickened his steps.

Face heard the shot ring out just before he felt the pain in his chest. He fell backwards toward the ground. He tried to sit up, but to no avail. He started looking frantically for Murdock. Finally, he saw the pilot. Murdock was standing over him with a gun in his hand.

"What have I done? What have I done?" Murdock began shaking and dropped to his knees, crying, "I'm sorry, Face. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it, honest. I thought there was somebody after you. I was just trying to help. Oh God, please be all right. Please be all right."

Murdock sat on the ground and pulled Face's head onto his lap. Face tried to smile and let Murdock know that he knew it was an accident. He tried to talk, but darkness enveloped him and he passed out.

* * *

BA and Hannibal had been getting some sleep in the motel. The gunshot woke them. They dressed quickly and made their way to the diner. Nothing could have prepared them for the sight that greeted them. Murdock was cradling Face's head on his lap. There was blood on the ground around Face. Murdock was crying, "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it." Over and over he said the words, hoping Face could hear him. Hannibal rushed over to Face. He unzipped Face's jacket and instead of seeing the light blue shirt Face had worn earlier, he saw crimson red.

The bullet appeared to have hit him square in the chest. There were air bubbles in the blood, leading Hannibal to believe that perhaps the bullet had hit a lung. Face's breathing was shallow and irregular.

Hannibal looked at Murdock, "Let go of him Murdock. We've got to get him to the hospital."

Murdock continued to chant, "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."

Hannibal lifted Murdock's face by the chin and looked at him. "Captain. I need you. We have to get Face to a hospital. Now let go of him."

Murdock looked at Hannibal and then over to BA. BA knelt down by Face and told Murdock, "I can get him Murdock. You done real good taking care of him 'til we got here. But let me take him now so's we can get him to a doctor."

Murdock looked at BA and then Hannibal. "I didn't mean it," he said, and then he started to cry. He let go of Face, and BA scooped him up and hurried to the van, Murdock right behind him. Hannibal ran ahead, opened the door, and got in the backseat. BA placed Face on the backseat, his head resting on Hannibal's lap.

BA then turned to Murdock. "Come on, man. We gotta hurry. You ride up here with me and help me find the hospital." BA knew Face was hurt badly, and he might even die. BA didn't want Murdock to witness that if it happened. He'd seen enough.

BA put the van in gear and peeled out onto the street. Hannibal put his fingers in Face's hair and stroked his head. "Hang in there, Kid. Hang in there. You're going to be just fine."

Face's eyes remained closed and his breathing became more labored. Hannibal kept stroking his head with his left hand and applied pressure to the wound in Face's chest with his right hand.

Suddenly, Face's eyes opened. He looked up at Hannibal. "He..dddidn't…mean…to…Han'bal. Dddon't….blame.." Face's eyes closed. Hannibal felt for a pulse in Face's neck but found none.

"BA, he needs CPR. Now!" Hannibal yelled.

BA stopped the van and ran around to the back. He climbed in the back of the van and began doing chest compressions while Hannibal did mouth to mouth respirations. After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Face began breathing on his own – still labored – and he had a slight pulse. BA went back to the driver's seat and started toward the hospital. He could see Murdock in the seat next to him chanting over and over, "I killed him. I killed him. I killed him." BA didn't say anything. In his mind, he thought Murdock was telling the truth. BA was afraid his little brother was going to die.

* * *

They finally reached a small hospital in a neighboring town. Orderlies brought out a gurney and BA and Hannibal helped place Face on it. As they were wheeling him to the emergency room, Face began to convulse. His arms and legs failed out and his head went side to side. His eyes began to roll back in his head. Just as suddenly as the seizure had started, it ended. A nurse checked for a pulse but found none. "Code Blue!" she shouted. A doctor came running down the hall. Face was wheeled into the emergency room.

The doctor began shouting orders. "Be careful, Susan. We don't want to bury the bullet in there any further."

Another nurse attached leads to Face's chest for the cardiac monitor. The doctor looked at the scope. "Flat line. Charge to 400" He took the defibrillator paddles out and one of the nurses spread gel on them. The doctor placed the paddles on Face's chest and yelled, "Clear!" Then he countershocked him. Face's body bucked as the electricity went through him. The doctor looked at the scope. "Let's hit him again. Clear!" He countershocked Face again. The doctor looked at the scope. Face had a heartbeat and was struggling to breathe.

Only then did the doctor look up. He saw a white haired man and a big black man watching him intently. He saw another man with a baseball cap on looking at the patient, saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The nurses began to hook up the IV's and clean the wound in preparation for surgery. The doctor walked over to the men. "I'm Dr. Collins. Could any of you tell me what happened?"

Hannibal looked at Murdock and then Dr. Collins. "From what we've been able to piece together, it looks like the captain here may have accidentally shot my son. We're detectives and they were out on a surveillance mission. Is he going to be all right?" Hannibal braced himself for whatever Dr. Collins was going to tell him.

Dr. Collins ran a hand through his sandy brown hair. "I won't lie to you. He'll be lucky to pull through. He's lost a lot of blood. We're going to take him to the operating room now to see if we can get the bullet out. It appears to have hit a lung, but I won't know the extent of the damage until I'm in there. We'll keep you posted. I'll get Nurse Michaels to help you get settled."

Dr. Collins turned toward one of the nurses. "Leslie, will you show these gentleman to the ICU waiting room? Oh, and try to find some scrubs for them to change into.'

Hannibal looked down at himself and over to BA and Murdock. Only then did he notice the blood over all of them. "My God," he whispered, "please don't die Face. Please don't die."

Leslie walked over and asked them to follow her. She took them to a private waiting area. About 10 minutes later she brought them some scrubs and showed them to a doctor's lounge where they could take a shower. They cleaned themselves up, positioned themselves in the waiting room chairs, and began their vigil.

Murdock began rocking back and forth, still saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Hannibal walked over to him. "Captain, is there anything you need to tell me?"

Murdock stopped rocking and looked up at Hannibal, tears threatening to erupt. "I killed him, Colonel. I thought I saw something or someone trying to kill him and so I shot the gun. Then I saw Face fall to the ground. I killed him. I killed him."

Hannibal put his arm around Murdock. "Murdock, listen to me. It was an accident, plain and simple. Face told me so right after we got there. Now, if he doesn't blame you for this, you shouldn't either. Understand?"

Murdock looked at Hannibal and then looked down at the floor. "I couldn't bear if it he died," he whispered.

Hannibal nodded his head. "I know, Murdock, I know."

* * *

Hannibal looked at the clock. It was 3:00 a.m. "Hang in there, Kid," he willed Face. A nurse came in and asked for patient information. Hannibal told her Face's name was "Richard Brenner" and that he was "John Brenner," his father.

It was 7:00 a.m. BA was pacing back and forth in the small waiting room. Murdock was still sitting in the chair, rocking himself. Hannibal stool against the wall, watching for movement in the hallway, hoping the surgery was a success. At 8:22 a.m., Dr. Collins walked down the hall toward the waiting room. Hannibal walked up to him, meeting him halfway. "How is he, Doctor?" BA and Murdock sprinted down the hall to catch up with Hannibal and Dr. Collins.

Dr. Collins looked down at his hands and then at Hannibal. "It's bad, I'm afraid. I took your son to surgery to remove a bullet. Instead of a bullet though, I found this." Dr. Collins held up what appeared to be an arrowhead.

Hannibal stared at the object in the doctor's hands. "An arrow? Why couldn't we tell?"

Dr. Collins looked at the three men. "My guess is that when your son fell to the ground, the shaft broke off. You were probably so overcome with the fact that he was injured and bleeding so much that you didn't notice a shaft on the ground. Let me tell you, though, this arrowhead did more damage than a bullet would have. He has a punctured lung and a nick in his heart. I'm also concerned about the lack of oxygen to his brain. That's what caused the seizure."

Hannibal stood still for a moment, absorbing the information the doctor had just told him. "Can we see him?"

Dr. Collins nodded his head. "Yes, but just for a few minutes. No talking except to let him know you're there. Deal?" Dr. Collins addressed all three men as he spoke.

"Deal." Hannibal said. BA and Murdock nodded their heads in agreement.

Dr. Collins left and instructed Leslie to get Hannibal, BA, and Murdock once his patient had been settled into ICU. About an hour later, Leslie came and showed the men to Face's room. They stood in the doorway, unable to move. Face was lying still on the bed. His eyes were closed and he had a ventilator breathing for him. The heart monitor was beeping a steady beat. There were IV's in both arms. Hannibal shook his head and walked over to Face. He ran his fingers through Face's hair and bent down to his ear. "Hang in there, Son. You're gonna be all right. We're right here for you."

BA walked over to Face. Hannibal took a couple of steps back so BA could speak to Face. "You gonna be all right Lil Brother. I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya. You just get better." BA touched Face's left hand, then turned to leave. Hannibal thought he saw a tear in the man's eye.

Murdock walked over to Face. He stroked Face's cheek and whispered, "I don't know what really happened. But I'm gonna find out. That's a promise." He turned and walked out of the room.

Hannibal looked back at Face again. He was afraid if he quit watching him that Face would die. Finally, he turned and left and went back to the ICU waiting room.

* * *

The three men were huddled in the waiting room.

Hannibal said, "So who would shoot somebody with an arrow? Did they know who they were shooting or was it random?"

BA answered, "I think we should go back there and search for clues. Maybe if we find the shaft we can figure out what's goin' on."

Murdock spoke up, "I wanna go help look for clues. Maybe the shot I fired wounded whoever did this. It's worth checking out."

Hannibal nodded. "You two go see what you can find. I'll stay here for now in case Face – "

Hannibal was cut off by the intercom announcing, "Code blue, Room C. Code blue, Room C."

The men looked at each other. Hannibal finally spoke, "That's Face's room." They ran down the hall toward Face's room. Dr. Collins was running from the other direction. Leslie was doing chest compressions.

Dr. Collins yelled, "Bring me the defibrillator. Set it to 400." He grabbed the paddles, which were again covered in gel. He placed the paddles on Face's chest and countershocked him. Face's body jerked as the voltage passed through him. Flat line. "Again!" yelled Dr. Collins. "Clear!" He countershocked Face, who once again jerked as the voltage passed through him. The monitor showed a heartbeat.

Dr. Collins sighed heavily. "That was close. Good job everybody!" He gave orders to the staff hovering around Face, and then turned toward Hannibal, BA, and Murdock. Just then, Face started having convulsions. His arms and legs were flailing. He pulled out an IV. Dr. Collins tried to hold Face still. BA ran over and pushed Face down on the bed. He held him steady while Leslie put restraints on him and Dr. Collins administered dilantin. Face began to calm down.

Hannibal, visibly shaken, asked, "Doc, what was that about?"

Dr. Collins looked at the floor, then at Hannibal. "More than likely your son has suffered brain damage because of lack of oxygen to his brain. Also, his heart can't take much more. If he flat-lines again, I doubt we'll get him back."

Hannibal looked at Dr. Collins. "What can we do?"

Dr. Collins said simply, "Pray. Medicine's done all it can do. I suggest you pray."

Hannibal looked down the hall toward the chapel. BA was already on his way there.

* * *

The next day, BA and Murdock went back to the diner. Carly ran out to greet them. "We heard what happened. Is Face all right?"

Murdock bit his bottom lip, then spoke, "We don't know yet." He started to cry.

BA put his hand on Murdock's shoulder, and then turned to Carly. "Face wasn't shot with a bullet. He was shot with an arrow. Did you find a shaft anywhere?"

Carly shook her head. "We've not touched anything. The police have the area blocked off. I can try to find out for you though. Oh, and by the way, we didn't tell anybody who you really are. We just said you were friends of Randy's from Nam."

BA halfway smiled and said, "Thanks. We owe ya."

Carly went over to the blocked off area and spoke with Lt. Jon Riker of the local police department. "Have you found anything Jon?"

Riker walked over to Carly. God, she was beautiful, he thought. Too bad she was a half-breed. His father would never approve. Oh well, to hell with his father. After this investigation was wrapped up, he was going to ask Carly out. He cleared his throat, "Well, from what I can see, it looks like two different people got injured. Over here is a lot of blood from where Randy's friend was hurt. But over here, there are drops of blood that go all the way to the creek back there," Riker motioned toward a wooded area behind the diner. He continued, "We found an Arapaho arrow shaft. I'll let you know if we find anything else out."

Carly smiled at Riker and walked back to BA and Murdock. "They found an Arapaho arrow shaft. My mother was Arapaho, but there aren't that many Arapaho left in this area."

Just then, Randy pulled up in his Jeep. He started walking toward his sister. His arm was in a sling.

Carly ran up to Randy. "What happened to you?"

Randy started rubbing his arm. "Well, yesterday when I was unloading supplies I ran into the corner of one of the crates, and it split my arm open. I had to get stitches. Am I a klutz or what?"

Carly reached up and hugged her brother. You're a klutz. But I love you anyway. Did you hear what happened here last night?"

Randy looked at Carly, then BA and Murdock. "Yeah," he answered, "But I don't know why it happened. We've had trouble before, but no one got hurt you know? Maybe we should just leave the diner business and move away. I don't like the thought of people getting hurt because of me."

BA walked over to Randy. "Hey man, you're a brother from Nam. We stick together. We'll figure this out. Faceman's gonna be okay. You got to believe that."

Murdock walked over to Randy, glaring as he walked. "Let me see your arm. Maybe you got a bullet in your arm. I know I wounded whoever hurt Face. Let me see it."

BA grabbed Murdock by the shoulder and spun him around. "What choo doing Fool? Randy didn't try to kill Face. What good would it do for him to hurt Face?"

Murdock shook himself free from BA's grip and stormed away.

BA turned to Randy. "I'm sorry, Man. He's just upset. Faceman is a really good friend, you know? More like family. Each other's all we got."

Randy looked at BA. "Don't worry about it. I know he's upset. I would be too. Why don't you get back to the hospital? I'll keep an eye on things here. I'll call if anything new comes up."

BA nodded his head and walked toward Murdock. "Let's go to the hospital, Murdock. It's been a while since we checked on Face."

Murdock stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. "He did it BA. He did it. That's how he hurt his arm."

They got into the van and drove to the hospital, neither man saying a word.

* * *

Hannibal sat beside Face. _God, he looks terrible_, he thought. He stroked the blond hair and looked down at Face. The ventilator made a steady rhythm, keeping time with the heart monitor. Hannibal put Face's hand in his own.

"God, I know I haven't been in touch in a while. I'm sorry about that, I really am. But God, I need you take care of Face. He's like a son to me. You know what it's like to lose a son. I don't think I could bear it, God."

Hannibal lay Face's hand down and put his hand in his hands. He began to weep. He tried to compose himself and got up to go wash his face. He saw BA and Murdock walking down the hall.

"What's up, guys?" Hannibal asked.

Murdock replied, anger in his voice. "They found an Arapaho arrow shaft and some blood drops leading to the creek behind the diner. Randy showed up this morning with his arm in a sling. Says he ran into some crates while unloading supplies yesterday. Some story. I'm telling you, Hannibal, I think he had something to do with it."

Hannibal turned to BA. BA said, "I don't think Randy's in on anything. He really seemed to care about Face, even offered to close the diner if it meant no one else would get hurt."

Hannibal looked at the men. "It doesn't add up. People who supposedly hate Native Americans target the diner, and yet Face is shot with an arrow, a Native American weapon. We're missing something."

Murdock walked into Face's room. A few minutes later, Carly walked in. She had some herbs and ointments.

"Do you mind if I apply some of these on Face?" she asked.

Murdock looked at the ointments. "What are they?"

Carly replied, "They're medicines my grandmother used to make from herbs in the forest. They'll help Face get well."

Murdock thought for a moment. "Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt, right?"

Carly began putting the ointments on Face. "My grandmother used natural medicines on my brother and me all the time. Her grandfather was a medicine man before the white men came." Carly picked up the ointments and packed them in her bag. "I'm finished. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Murdock smiled. "Thanks Carly," he said as Carly walked down the hall to the elevator. Then he turned and went to Face's bedside, keeping vigil over his friend.

Out in the hallway, BA and Hannibal were still discussing the clues they had gathered so far.

"BA, it just doesn't add up. Did you notice anyone acting strangely when you were at the diner today?" Hannibal asked.

BA thought for a moment. "Honestly, Hannibal, only Murdock was the one talkin' crazy out there. But I know he didn't shoot Face with no arrow."

"You're right, BA," said Hannibal. "But something is definitely going on and we've got to find—"

"Help him! Help him!" Murdock ran out of Face's room toward the nurses' desk. "Help him! He's having seizures. Help him!"

Hannibal and BA ran into the room. Face was bucking up on the bed with such force that it moved the bed. His eyes were open but rolled back into his head. The ventilator was making a shrill noise. Leslie and another nurse ran in, Dr. Collins right behind them.

"What's on his arms and face?" barked Dr. Collins.

"Carly put some Indian herbs on him. I didn't think it would hurt anything…" Murdock squeezed his eyes shut.

Dr. Collins had Leslie wipe off the ointments and send them for analysis. Face continued to writhe in bed. Dr. Collins began calling out medication orders. Face finally settled down.

* * *

Hannibal sat down in the hard plastic chair that had been his home since this nightmare began. He looked at Face. Face looked at him. Face LOOKED at him. Hannibal smiled. Face tried to smile, but because of the ventilator he choked. He began to panic and his eyes darted back and forth wildly. Hannibal stood up and placed both hands on Face's shoulders.

"Face, Face. It's okay. It's okay. You're on a ventilator. You were shot the other night. You're okay. You're okay."

Face looked at Hannibal and allowed the words to sink in. Suddenly he remembered Murdock. He started to move his head back and forth.

"Face, you're okay. Murdock is okay. BA is okay. Everybody is fine. We've just been worried about you. Now calm down."

Hannibal stroked Face's hair. "That's good. Just calm down."

Leslie walked into the room. "Is everything all right, Mr. Brenner?"

Face stared at her. He tried to speak, but again, he choked.

Leslie put her hand on Face's arm. "I'll page Dr. Collins and see if we can get you off this ventilator. Would you like that?"

Face nodded his head yes.

After Face was off the ventilator, he was still extremely weak and he could barely speak because his throat hurt. But he was off the ventilator. He had insisted that the team get some rest now that he was feeling better. Murdock didn't want to leave, but Face had insisted, saying that if they didn't get any rest he would feel bad. They reluctantly went to the motel to grab a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Carly walked in that evening to see Face. "Well, you're looking better than the last time I saw you."

Face flashed her his "You're gorgeous" smile and said, "So I'm told." He coughed. "I'm still not able to talk very well," he rasped.

Carly walked over to him and placed her hand on his forehead. "Umm, you still have a fever. I have some stuff I can give you for that. My great-grandfather was a great medicine man. Do you want me to give you some?"

Face smiled weakly. "Sure," he choked out. "Couldn't hurt anything, right?"

Carly opened her pouch and put the different ointments on the nightstand. She began to rub some on Face's forehead. "How does that feel?"

The mixture was cool and left a tingling sensation. "Okay," Face whispered.

Carly began to smear more and more on Face's forehead. Then she put some on his arms. His head began to throb and his arms began to burn.

"Stop, stop!" he cried. His eyes rolled back and he felt his body begin to convulse. He was convulsing so hard his IV's were pulled out. Carly backed up, grabbed her stuff and placed it in the bag.

Randy opened the door and entered the room. "Hey, Sis. I thought I might.." his eyes fell on Face. "My God, Carly, what's going on?" He ran out to the hallway. "Somebody help! My friend's having a seizure."

Leslie ran into the room. Randy pulled Carly out into the hallway. "Why didn't you get help, Carly? Didn't you see he was…hey, what were you doing there?"

Carly looked down at the floor. Randy cupped her face in his hands and asked again, "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Collins passed them as he rushed into Face's room, giving orders. BA, Hannibal, and Murdock had just arrived back at the hospital and were surprised to see all the activity in Face's room. Hannibal rushed to Face's side.

"Hang on Face, hang on. You're going to be all right. That's it. That's it."

Face's tremors began to subside. He opened his eyes, locked onto Hannibal's, and then passed out.

Hannibal looked at Dr. Collins, "Doctor…"

Dr. Collins checked Face's pupils. "He's okay. The seizure just wiped him out."

Randy walked over to the men. "What's going on here? " He looked at Carly. "What did you do, Sis?"

Dr. Collins cleared his throat, and then spoke. "I can fill you in. Seems she was trying to poison Mr. Brenner here. Those weren't healing ointments she was applying. They were topical poisons."

Randy glared at Carly in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I hate this town. I hate the people here. I hate the way white people like Riker look at half-breeds like me." Carly hissed. "I knew you would never sell the diner and get out of town unless you were left no other choice. I saw you going into the clinic with your hurt arm. I figured it would be easy to set you up for murder, thought it would never be actually proven, but you'd want to leave this town for sure."

Randy was puzzled. "How could you do this to me? To our friends? To the memory of our parents?"

Carly laughed. "It was easy. They're your friends, not mine. And our parents certainly didn't care about us. Leaving this dump of a diner to us, knowing that half-breeds are hated in this town. The only reason our parents were able to succeed with the diner was because Mama would never stand up with pride for being Arapaho. Well, I can't do that. I love a white man who will never love me because I'm a half-breed. So I shot Face. It didn't matter who died, just whoever was conveniently at the diner."

Murdock approached Carly. "But there was someone else's blood at the scene. I shot the person who hurt Face."

Carly rolled up her sleeve to reveal a bandage covering a nick in her arm.

Lt. Riker entered the room. "Dr. Collins called me in." He looked at Carly. Suddenly she didn't seem so beautiful. He turned Carly around and put handcuffs on her. "You have the right to remain silent…"

* * *

The next morning, Dr. Collins came to check on his patient. He found Hannibal sleeping with his head against Face's bed, as was Murdock. BA had camped out in a plastic chair and had his feet propped up on Face's bed. Dr. Collins walked over to Face. "Umm hmmm" he cleared his throat.

Hannibal, BA, and Murdock woke up, all searching for Face.

Dr. Collins continued, "Gentleman, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to check out my patient." He shook Face's shoulder and tried to wake him. Finally, Face started to open his eyes. "Can you hear me son? You're family is here. Can you speak?"

Face just stared at them.

Dr. Collins turned to Hannibal, "I hope I'm wrong, but if he doesn't respond to our questions, we will have to assume he suffered brain damage, though I'm not sure how severe."

Dr. Collins pushed the intercom button on Face's bed. "Nurse Michaels, could you come to Mr. Brenner's room please?"

Seconds later, Leslie opened the door to Face's room. "Yes, Doctor?"

"Could you monitor Mr. Brenner's vitals for the next 2 hours, every 15 minutes? Let me know if there is any change. Oh, and that IV's almost out, so you can go ahead and start another one if you don't mind."

Leslie walked over to Face. "I don't mind," she said, smiling down at Face.

Face looked at Leslie. He tried to speak, but only a whisper came out. Hannibal put his ear down to Face's mouth. "Say it again, Face."

Face again whispered something. Hannibal turned to Dr. Collins, Leslie, BA, and Murdock. Murdock couldn't stand it any more. "Well?"

Hannibal smiled. "He wants Leslie's telephone number. I'd say that means he going to be fine!" Hannibal started to laugh and the others joined in. Hannibal looked over to Face, who had fallen back to sleep. "You're going to be okay, son. You're going to be okay."

Hannibal stroked Face's hair, adjusted his covers, and sat down in his chair. Murdock and BA did the same. They would watch face all through the night.

The End

_Author's note: Notikoni is Arapaho for "warpath." _


End file.
